1. Field
Various embodiments of the invention relate generally to semiconductor design technology, and more particularly to a voltage level shifter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Use of IoT (i.e., Internet of Things) and wearable electronic devices is expected to increase at a fast pace. One requirement for such devices is low power consumption. Various technologies, have been proposed for providing low power consumption including a technology generally referred to as NTV (Near Threshold Voltage) technology.
NTV technology may generally lower the power consumption of an electronic device by lowering the voltage level of one or more input signals to the device to more closely match the device's performance requirements. For example, NTV technology may lower the voltage level of an input signal to a value close to the threshold voltage level of a transistor, thereby minimizing power consumption. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the voltage level range of an input signal defined in the NTV technology may be defined as a voltage level range FRUGAL between a minimum level of a standard voltage VCORE and threshold voltage level of the transistor.
However, while NTV may lower power consumption, it may also cause operational malfunctioning of the electronic device because existing voltage level shifters used in integrated circuit devices are not capable of handling such voltage changes. For example, as the voltage of a signal inputted to a voltage level shifter is lowered, the performance of one or more transistors of the voltage level shifter may be degraded, thus also affecting the operation of the electronic device, voltage level shifter voltage level shifter voltage level shifter